afaqs! news bureau

The Olympic Games has been officially postponed

The world's biggest sporting spectacle has been postponed by a year as it joins the list of events affected by Coronavirus.

The COVID - 19 pandemic has struck everyone around the world. From ordinary people and small businesses to industries and the global economy, nothing has been able to stand against it.

And today, the Olympics, the biggest sporting event on the planet joined the long list of public events that are either cancelled or postponed in the face of the virus.

A joint statement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020, organising committee said, ‘In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.’

It was also agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan and that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The press release mentioned that President Bach of the IOC and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its significant impact on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

There was also mention of the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom who said that the virus is accelerating.

Coronavirus has as of March 24, 2020 infected over 381,200 people and claimed over 16,500 lives. In India, over 490 people have tested positive and 10 have succumbed to it.